I know, fall is coming and everyone’s excited about pumpkin spice lattes. But, it’s still blazing hot outside and I’ve been working on my cold brew coffee game all summer. I’ve become a self-proclaimed cold brew aficionado, so hear me out! Show
Homemade cold brew coffee is:
You can make cold brew on the weekend, then pour your coffee from the fridge every morning. No boiling water. No fussing with a coffee maker. As someone who is 100% not a morning person, cold brew coffee is a total game changer. Let’s make some cold brew! Fun Facts about Cold Brew CoffeeCold brew can be strong.This depends on a lot of factors, including the beans used, steeping time, and dilution. The dilution is the factor that is the easiest to control. Don’t drink cold brew concentrate straight—it’s highly caffeinated! Cold brew is less acidic.If regular drip coffee or espresso upsets your stomach, cold brew might not. The only way to know is to try it, and you’ll have more control over the end result if you make it yourself. You can heat up cold brew and drink it hot.Indeed, it’s true, and it’s very good. The flavor stays about the same. Cold brew takes longer to make than drip coffee.Since the water is cold, it needs to steep for about 12 to 18 hours to soak up the coffee’s color, flavor and caffeine. The cold extraction process brings out fewer of coffee’s bitter compounds, which produces a sweeter and smoother result. Coarsely-ground coffee makes the best cold brew.No coffee grinder at home? No problem. Just grind your coffee at the grocery store using their big coffee grinder machine, with the dial set on the coarse/French press option. I’ve provided approximate amounts of ground coffee to use if you don’t have a scale for a more accurate weight measurement (don’t worry about it). Use any coffee variety you enjoy to make cold brew.Any variety will work, and you’ll find that it tases less bitter when its steeped in cold water instead of hot. It would be fun to compare a glass of cold brew coffee with hot coffee of the same variety. Basic Cold Brew Coffee RatioHere’s the deal: This ratio is flexible. A kitchen scale will come in handy if you have one, but it’s not necessary. You’re making cold brew concentrate, and you can dilute the concentrate to taste once it’s finished.
Examples
Recommended Steeping TimeThe steeping time is flexible as well. I’ve read suggestions for “overnight or 12 hours,” and “at least 18 or up to 24 hours,” so do what works with your schedule. Starbucks steeps their cold brew for 20 hours. If you accidentally steep yours longer (even 24+ hours), it’s ok. Your concentrate may taste a little more bitter than it would have, but it’s probably fine. It may also be extra-strong, so you might want to dilute with some extra water. How to Strain Your Cold BrewOnce you’re done steeping the coffee, you’ll need to strain the coffee grounds out of the water. A fine-mesh sieve or French press filter isn’t sufficient (you’ll end up with murky, sludgy concentrate). Most methods will suggest using cheese cloth, but I hate cheese cloth! It’s difficult to work with and seems so wasteful. I played around with other options and found two that work great. See my photos for examples of each. Choose one:
To strain, simply place the coffee filter into a small fine-mesh sieve, or drape your cloth over the sieve. Place it over a pitcher or liquid measuring cup, and pour the concentrate through it. That’s it! Have I convinced you to try making cold brew coffee at home? It’s so much cheaper than buying it from the coffee shop! Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #cookieandkate. What is the ratio of grounds to water for cold brew?The cold brew ratio. Grounds to water ratio: 1:4. For making coffee, use a 1:4 ratio of grounds to water. That means 1 ½ cups coffee grounds and 6 cups of water. ... . Cold brew concentrate to water ratio: 1:1. After you make cold brew, you'll end up with cold brew concentrate. To drink the finished brew, use a ratio of 1:1.. How much coffee do you use for 4 cups of cold brew?The ratio of coffee grounds to water is subjective and depends on personal taste. A good place to start is to grind 3/4 cup beans for 4 cups of cold water—the size of a 32-ounce French press. You can double—with 1.5 cups beans for 8 cups water—or even triple the quantities depending on the size of your container.
How much coffee do you put in cold brew?Basic Cold Brew Coffee Ratio
Per 1 cup of water, you'll need 1 ounce (by weight) coarsely ground coffee. That's about 1/4 cup whole coffee beans, which yields roughly 1/2 cup ground coffee. If you're accustomed to the metric system, 1 ounce is equal to 28 grams.
How do you measure coffee and water for cold brew?A ratio of 1:8 of coffee to water will produce a nice coffee ready to drink after around 24 hours at a coarse grind. Another option is to create a much stronger cold brew (named cold brew concentrate), by using a ratio anywhere from 1 part coffee to 4 parts water, up to around 1 part coffee to 2 parts water.
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